Lots of people didn’t take a vacation this year, for the obvious reason that business is off and money is tight within many family budgets. People are working longer hours these days just to stay even and are sometimes working two and three jobs. But with all the pressure and long hours, a little down time is needed more than ever.   I have found that it is possible to take a late fall … [Read more...]

For the second week in a row, Nags Head is the recommended destination for a CvilleBuzz Road Trip. That’s because while the striped bass fishing in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay is still slow and the fish and bait are scattered, the stripers in the sound at Nags Head are thick as thieves and hungry. It’s even better this week than the week before, says Guide Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Guide … [Read more...]

If you have been waiting to make a road trip to Nags Head, now is the time. The stripers in the sound behind Nags Head are plentiful and they’re biting. Says Capt. Reese Stecher, a Nags Head Fishing Guide, “It’s not quite like the old days, but almost as good. The fish are all over the sound.” Reese said he and a client recently caught a limit of keepers in about 15 minutes. It was almost … [Read more...]

Boy, this would be a good weekend to get out, take a little road trip and see the beautiful colors of the changing autumn leaves. It would also be a good time to visit a Virginia vineyard and maybe hear some great music while savoring a bottle of crisp, white wine. What if you could do all this and enjoy some delicious food in a beautiful Shenandoah Valley setting? You can, at CrossKeys Vineyards … [Read more...]

In the bible, God once told Moses to take off his sandals because the place on which the Great Lawmaker was standing was holy ground. There is a spot in West Virginia’s Grant County that I feel that way about. It’s holy ground, indeed, where God did some of his very best work. In fact, I think maybe He was showing off a little. This is spectacular country. The South Branch of the North Fork of … [Read more...]

  Each fall, our house in Charlottesville becomes something of a Bed & Breakfast for the ladies in my family as they come from as far away as Houston to attend Martha’s Market. Marsha, my sister in law, comes from Myrtle Beach, my other sister in law, Laura, drives in from Charleston, WV and my younger sister, Jo, is the visiting Texan. It’s an event they don’t want to … [Read more...]

A pretty weekend day in October? What to do and where to go? How about getting lost – lost as in a corn maze and Liberty Mills Farm in Somerset has a good one. Last year, we took our two Atlanta grandkids to Liberty Farm and bought tickets to a difficult maze. If I had not dropped shiny white pebbles behind me (a la Hansel and Gretel) we’d still be out there. This year, they say, it’s an even … [Read more...]

A ringneck pheasant always cackles when he goes airborne. I guess it’s his way of saying, “Okay, just me and you now. Let’s see how good a shot you are.” We used to have a few wild ringnecks in Virginia, but they went the way of bobwhite quail when fescue overwhelmed our meadows and drove many ground feeding birds into near extinction. There are lots of good preserves in Virginia that offer … [Read more...]

It’s that time of the year when fish in small lakes and ponds move close to the shore and will swat most anything that comes their way. If a nearby fisherman is around, and has a cooler or a stringer, there will be some seriously good eating in that person’s future. So our road trip of the week is directed to a nearby pond. I was fortunate to visit a local lake recently and put a dozen or so … [Read more...]

I had the opportunity to take a road trip over Labor Day to Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte, NC. The reservoir happens to be the largest man-made body of fresh water in the Tarheel state. Along its 520 miles of shoreline are many magnificent homes and one spectacular golf course – The Trump National Golf Club of Charlotte. I would be playing golf there for two days with my brothers, Charlie, … [Read more...]